Political Monitor 18/09/2020

18 September 2020

Ofcom

Philip Marnick, Ofcom’s spectrum group director, has been awarded 5G Week’s ‘leading individual ‘champion’ of 5G’ award. The awards aim to recognise the best examples of 5G adoption, uses and rollout worldwide. Marnick’s role in overseeing how spectrum is released and how it has been used was highlighted by the awarding body who said this had helped put the UK on the map in terms of rolling out 5G and other wireless technology.

 

Broadband

Government announce further funding for voucher scheme

DCMS announced  a further £22 million of funding was being invested into the Government’s broadband voucher scheme. The scheme, which was introduced in 2019, targets areas where the cost of building new gigabit broadband infrastructure is likely to be too high for commercial operators to cover alone. The scheme has made vouchers worth up to £3,500 for small and medium sized businesses and up to £1,500 for residential premises available to cover these costs in rural areas across the UK. Local councils in England have also provided £22.2 million worth of funding to top-up the values of the vouchers in their areas. Digital Infrastructure Minister, Matt Warman MP, said at least 250,000 homes and businesses in the English countryside would be eligible for the additional funding announced this week.

 

Cyber Security

Government warn of Chinese global cyber attacks

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) issued a press release warning of Chinese global cyber-attacks. The press release followed announcements from the US Department of Justice and Malaysian law enforcement of criminal charges against Chinese nationals and arrests of Malaysian nationals relating to cyber-attacks. Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab MP, condemned the attacks against governments and businesses and said the UK would work with global allies to hold perpetrators to account.

Written Parliamentary question on HRV updates

Shadow DCMS Minister, Chi Onwurah MP, asked what assessment DCMS has made of the potential merits of providing quarterly reports to Parliament on the progress of removing Huawei from 5G and other telecommunications networks. Digital Infrastructure Minister, Matt Warman MP, responded that forthcoming legislation on telecommunications security will ensure there are appropriate reporting, compliance and enforcement arrangements in place around high risk vendors (HRVs). Warman continued that this legislation would enable the Secretary of State the ability to make directions relating to HRVs in the UK 5G network, working alongside Ofcom, who may be asked to provide h factual reports on operators’ use of HRV products. The Secretary of State may choose to publish any reports, or a summary of such reports.

Written question on cyber attacks

Lord Mendelsohn (Lab) asked what plans the Government have to protect British companies targeted by cyber ransom attacks. Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford began by recognizing the significant increase in the scale and severity of malicious cyber activity globally. Williams stated that the Government works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) who continually review their advice and guidance to reflect new trends and how companies can protect themselves.

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) statistics indicate that in the last financial year for 2019/20 there were 160 recorded ransomware-related breaches, accounting for 6.8% of all cyber-related breaches. The Government currently does not hold any official data on the total cost of ransomware demands.

 

Online Safety

YouTube faces legal battle over British children’s privacy

A claim has been put forward to the High Court against parent company Google which YouTube of collecting children’s data without parental consent. Privacy expert Duncan McCann, who is bringing the action, argues that YouTube and Google have breached the UK’s Data Protection Act and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations. Campaign group Foxglove who focus on preventing the abuse of digital technology, have said they will support the case.

 

Subgroup news

Please find an update on our ongoing policy work below

Liability

Broadband

ISPA events

ISP Business Model Webinar Series

If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up to the ISP Business Model Summit event which this year will take place over a series of 3 separate webinars exploring areas of growth for ISPs. Below are further details of the webinars being held from 24th September onwards:

Enhance your customer value proposition webinar and ISPA AGM

24th September – 2pm-3pm

 

Networks webinar

1st October – 2pm-3pm

Marcin Bala, CTO, Salumanus

 

Increase your network security

8th October 2pm-3pm

 

ISPA Awards Online Ceremony

You are invited to the 22nd annual ISPA Awards ceremony, which will take place on a very engaging online platform on Wednesday 18th November from 4.30pm-5.30pm. Please add this date to your diaries and RSVP to awards@ispa.org.uk if you would like to secure your free ticket. More information will be revealed soon but rest assured that although we can’t meet in person this year, we will make the ceremony exciting and fun as always. Keep your eyes peeled for future announcements!